


To Commemorate the Occasion

by veleda_k



Category: White Collar
Genre: Anniversary, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 15:18:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1783729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veleda_k/pseuds/veleda_k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal loved anniversaries. It was an excuse to celebrate, and they appealed to Neal’s sense of the dramatic. Kate might have expected that he would want to celebrate the anniversary of their first date. She hadn’t expected him to want to celebrate the anniversary of the first time they ordered Chinese, or the first time they danced. But she could get used to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Commemorate the Occasion

Neal loved anniversaries. It was an excuse to celebrate, and they appealed to Neal’s sense of the dramatic. 

Kate became used to monthly anniversaries while she was still dating “Nick.” However, it wasn’t until after she learned the truth that Neal really let loose. Kate might have expected that he would want to celebrate the anniversary of their first “real” date as Kate and Neal. She hadn’t expected him to want to celebrate the anniversary of the first time they ordered Chinese. The first time they danced. He wanted to commemorate every occasion.

Kate didn’t really mind. In a way it was reassuring--a line of continuity connecting Nick Halden to Neal Caffrey. And he never seemed to mind that she couldn’t muster the same sort of enthusiasm he had. From what Kate could tell, Neal just liked celebrating. She didn’t understand how Neal could actually remember each little thing, but a sharp memory came in handy in their profession. And even if he was fudging the dates, it wasn’t like Kate would ever know.

“Should I try to guess?” Kate asked when Neal breezed into their apartment carrying an impressive but understated bouquet.

He swept her into his arms. “This one you should remember. What were we doing this time last month?”

Kate covered her face with her hands. “That heist. Neal, you can’t celebrate that. I was terrible.”

“What? No.” Neal looked her seriously. “Kate it was your first job. You did fine.”

“You and Mozzie—“

“Have been doing this for a long time. Look, I know that Moz was a little hard on you. But I told you then and I’m telling you now that you did fine for a beginner. Better than fine.” He kissed her. “And you’re only going to get better. Now, I have a romantic dinner planned for us.”

Kate smiled wryly. “Pizza and cheap wine from our bottle?”

Neal grinned. “Smart and beautiful.”

Once she was full of pizza and slightly tipsy, Kate felt herself relax significantly. “This was good,” she told Neal. “This was worth celebrating.”

Neal curled up beside her. “You’re worth celebrating.”

“Flatterer,” Kate said. But she smiled. 

The next time, Neal came home with a necklace made up of a small origami flower on a chain. “Did you make this?” Kate asked.

Neal nodded. “Took me a few tries, actually.”

“Something Neal Caffrey can’t do perfectly,” Kate teased. “Alert the media.”

“You’re a stunning wit,” Neal teased back.

“So is this a just because present? Or should I be remembering the first time we ate pizza together?”

“Oh, that’s a good one. I’ll have to figure out when that would be,” Neal said. Kate rolled her eyes, but fondly. “No,” Neal continued, “this is to commemorate our first fight.”

“Why in the world would you want to celebrate that?”

“It’s important. And it wasn’t our first fight, technically. It was our first fight as Neal and Kate, rather than Nick and Kate. Well,” Neal winced, “the first fight that wasn’t about me being Neal rather than Nick.”

Kate remembered that fight, when Neal had finally told her the truth about who he was. It had been ugly, with a lot of shouting on her part and pleading on Neal’s. She had felt furious and betrayed, justifiably so. It had been necessary to get them where they were now, but Kate didn’t look back on it with any fondness. It wasn’t something she ever wanted to celebrate. Luckily, Neal appeared to agree with her. 

Their first fight after that, on the other hand. In a strange way, Kate could understand commemorating that. It hadn’t been fun, but it had been real, and it had been honest. She had virtually never fought with Nick. In hindsight, that should have been a clue.

She lifted her hair and let Neal fasten the necklace around her neck. (They had been here once before, hadn’t they? But that was in another life.)

Kate kissed Neal. “Let’s go out.”

“Okay, where?”

Kate laughed. “I don’t know, anywhere. It’s our anniversary. Surprise me.”

He took her to a hole in the wall Greek restaurant. The staff called Neal Mr. Morris and cast warm, approving glances at Kate. Their dessert was free, and it was the best baklava Kate had ever tasted. It occurred to her that once upon a time the whole situation would have seemed strange. Now it was simply a normal part of being with Neal.

Neal did end up honoring the first time they ate pizza together. He made Margherita pizza from scratch, and it even somehow managed to go with their cheap wine. 

They made love for hours that night. “You’re ridiculous,” Kate whispered.

“Sorry,” Neal said.

“Don’t be,” Kate replied. “And don’t stop.” Kate knew better than most how quickly things could change, how quickly everything a person knew could shatter. Their life wasn’t safe, and it certainly wasn’t stable. Still, against the odds, she wanted to hold onto this.

Kate had to marvel at Neal’s creativity. Not only did he keep finding new ridiculous anniversaries to celebrate, but he managed to keep them feeling fresh and fun. Sometimes his little celebrations were tied to the event he was commemorating, other times they were just an excuse to give her a gift, or take her out to eat. Of course, he did those things anyway, but even Kate had to admit that it felt just a little bit more special when they made an occasion out of it.

“Are we seriously celebrating the anniversary of my second heist?” Kate asked one evening after Neal explained why he had surprised her with éclairs from her favorite pastry shop.

“The second heist is very important,” Neal informed her. “The first heist is out of the way, so you know you can do it, but you still have that unfamiliarity and nervousness.”

“What was your second heist?” Kate asked.

“Oh, it’s not that interesting.”

Kate poked him. “If you’re avoiding answering the question, then I really have to know.”

Neal looked sheepish. “I mean it. It wasn’t interesting. It was electronics. Not even particularly high end ones.”

“Huh. I expected at least a jewelry store.”

Neal shrugged. “I wasn’t always the suave criminal mastermind you see before you.”

Kate let the “criminal mastermind” part go without comment. “Was this with Keller?” She still found it hard to believe that Neal and Keller had ever been as close as Neal said they were.

“No, this was before even Keller. I wasn’t working with anyone.”

Kate imagined not working with anyone, trying to do every part of a job alone. She thought she could do it, but it didn’t sound like fun. She pressed against Neal. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

“I managed,” Neal said. “Still, I like working with a team.”

“You’ve got us now.”

Neal embraced Kate and let them both fall back onto the couch. He lightly grasped her wrists. “Now I’ve got you,” he said softly, with a smile.

Kate could have broken free, but she didn’t. Instead she tilted her head up as Neal kissed her, and she didn’t think any more about the past that night.

As time went on, an idea began to form Kate’s mind. It had been niggling at her for a while, but it really solidified when Neal surprised her with theatre tickets in honor of their first date as Nick and Kate. (Which was different from the anniversary of the two of them finally getting together as Nick and Kate.) Watching _As You Like It_ in the tiny theatre, Kate realized what she wanted to do.

Once Kate knew what she wanted, it became a question of how she was going to do it. Something purely spontaneous wouldn’t be as special as Kate wanted, but the more planning she did, the more likely Neal was to catch on.

Kate’s culinary skills began and ended with whipping a mean batch of pancakes, so cooking was out of the question. Luckily, New York City was the land of restaurants, and it wouldn’t be hard to find good takeout. 

Thinking of a gift was a problem. Jobs had been thin lately, so no one was flush with cash, and stealing a present promised a lot of risk for not much in return, especially since she’d have to do it alone. Getting thrown in jail would not set the mood she was aiming for. 

Looking through Neal’s books of poetry gave her a better idea. Kate snagged some heavy, high quality paper and a calligraphy pen, and set to writing out Neal’s favorite love poems; Neruda, Cummings, Sappho, Shakespeare and others. Kate could see that her handwriting wasn’t quite as elegant and smooth as Neal’s, but that gave her all the more reason to practice. Once she had enough, she tucked her creations back into the main pile of paper, near the bottom.

Kate almost bought a nice bottle of wine, cash shortage be damned, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that for this, it wouldn’t feel right to do anything but drink cheap wine out of their bottle.

The last step was the hardest, because it involved outside help. Specific outside help. Kate had to call Mozzie.

“What do you want?” Mozzie answered the phone, voice heavy with suspicion. 

“Lovely to talk to you too, Mozzie,” said Kate with sarcastic cheerfulness. “I’m doing fine, thanks for asking.”

Mozzie huffed. “Either the government is finally testing its brainwashing waves or you want something. Or you’re a pod person,” he added thoughtfully. “Or—“

“You’re right, I want something,” Kate said, cutting Mozzie off. 

“I knew it.”

Kate refrained from pointing out that he had also been seriously contemplating whether or not she was a pod person. “I need to you to keep Neal busy tomorrow. Not very long, just an hour or so in the evening. Even less would be fine.”

“And what purpose will this serve?”

“I’m planning something romantic for him. I’m assuming you don’t want the details.”

“Please refrain. I can’t believe you’re asking me to entertain Neal while you plan a date or some such thing. You realize that Neal will know something’s off?”

“Really?” Kate asked, all faux innocence. “I thought a conman of your caliber could hang out with his best friend for not even an hour without arousing suspicion, but if it’s too much for you, I can always call Alex.”

“One,” Mozzie said testily, “Alex is in Toronto, and you know it. Two, I can see what you’re doing. Your reverse psychology is not at all subtle. Three, _fine_. 

“Thanks so much, Mozzie,” Kate said sweetly. “Could you make it sometime around six?” 

Mozzie continued to grumble, but he agreed. Kate hung up with a feeling of satisfaction. 

The next day, Neal’s phone rang at 6:15 PM. He answered it with a, “Hey, Moz.” His expression grew perplexed. “Are you serious? Yeah, Moz, okay. Yeah, I’ll be there.” He hung up and looked at Kate. “Mozzie thinks he’s found part of an alien spacecraft in a junk shop across town. He wants me to help him case the shop so he can rob it later.”

That was what Mozzie had come up with? Kate had to give him credit, it certainly sounded like he’d think up unprompted. Naturally, she played along. “He’s going to rob a junk shop? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just buy this alien tech, whatever it actually is?”

Neal shrugged. “Mozzie says he has a moral objection to our capitalist system.”

“Really.” Kate didn’t bother to keep the skepticism off her face.

“I think it’s a mixture of being cheap and wanting a thrill. It’s harmless, really.”

Kate gave Neal a quick kiss. “You’d better go save him from himself.”

Once Neal was out of the apartment, Kate got to work. The preparations weren’t actually intensive. The most creative part was laying the love poems all over the apartment. She put several on the table and scattered more across the floor, making sure they were face up. Looking at all the sheets of paper scattered about put her in mind of rose petals. The effect was a little hokey for Kate’s taste, but she thought Neal would like it. 

She called their favorite French restaurant and arranged for delivery, then pulled out a selection of music. Both Neal and Kate liked classical, so Kate picked pieces she thought would set the mood.

The whole thing felt silly. Kate wasn’t sappy person. She enjoyed Neal’s gestures because they came from Neal, not because she longed for chocolates and a dozen roses. But Neal wouldn’t think it was silly. It would mean something to him.

When the food arrived, Kate set it out on the table. They didn’t own any truly fine dinnerware, but Kate managed to make it look attractive anyway. She made a note to talk to Neal about liberating some china during their next heist. She filled two glasses with wine and pushed play on the stereo.

It occurred to her that the food might get cold before Neal came back, though she had tried to plan otherwise. Still, it would taste good even reheated. 

She didn’t need to worry. Kate heard Neal come in, and she quickly lit the candles on the table.

“Kate?” Neal’s voice lifted over the music. Kate turned toward him. Neal was looking down at the paper under his feet. He picked one sheet up and read it. “’And all that’s best of dark and bright meet in her aspect and her eyes.’” He smiled at Kate. “I love Byron.”

“I know.” Kate kissed him. “There’s French food and cheap wine.”

Neal’s smile grew. “A winning combination. “ He made his way over to the table, though his progress was slowed by the way he kept stopping to read the poems. “What is all this?” he asked as he sat down, tuning another poem over in his hand.

Kate smiled mysteriously. “It’s takeout and wine from our Boudreaux bottle.”

Neal eyed her, but didn’t say anything. He took a bite of his carnard rôti. “Is this from Trois Canards?”

“I know it’s a little out of our price range at the moment,” Kate told him, “but tonight’s a special occasion.”

Neal’s suspicious expression deepened, but still he didn’t press her. “Mozzie may have found us a job, actually. That doesn’t involve alien technology,” he clarified.

“Excellent,” Kate said. She took a sip of wine. Somehow it tasted better than usual.

Neal outlined the basics of Mozzie’s job. It sounded profitable. From there they moved to a variety of topics, everything from books to the New York jazz scene, to the best way to crack a fire safe with a digital keypad (depending on make and model of course). A few times Neal tried to turn the conversation to why Kate had set the whole evening up, but she deflected him every time.

After the two of them had scraped the last bits of dessert from their plates, they lay on the couch together.

“It’s a celebration,” Neal said. “I get that. This is your response to all my little anniversaries. What I just can’t figure out is what we’re meant to be commemorating. Which is a unique problem for me. Remembering anniversaries isn’t usually an issue for me, as you’ve noticed.”

Kate leaned in and kissed Neal deeply. “We’re commemorating a day I never told you about. The day when I looked at you, and I realized that I really was in love you, the real you, or as close to real as you let anyone see. And that I didn’t want to imagine being anywhere else.”

Neal was speechless for a minute. “You didn’t need to do this,” he said upon finding his voice. 

“Well, obviously.” Kate rolled her eyes.

“I mean, this isn’t even your sort of thing.”

“No, but it’s yours.” She nudged him. “Just don’t go expecting this every day.”

Neal laughed. “I don’t think I could survive this every day.”

They finished the evening in bed, desperately and hungrily making love.

It wasn’t completely accurate, what Kate had told Neal. It was true, she did have the kind of moment she described, but she couldn’t be sure exactly when it had happened. It probably hadn’t happened on this date. But that wasn’t the point. The point had been to give Neal something that would matter to him.

“I’m glad you had a good time,” Kate told Neal sleepily.

“I really did,” he replied. “And it’s given me a whole bunch of ideas for new anniversaries.”

Kate laughed. “You’re incorrigible.”

“I know it,” Neal told her with a kiss.

It was easy to fall asleep after the wine, good food, and sex. “To us,” Kate whispered to Neal. Before she fell asleep, she heard him whisper it back.


End file.
